Day 2

The next morning, we drove to Morro Bay. The preceding week at our house had cooked us in 100 degree plus temperatures so we were delighted to read the Vibe's thermometer as we pulled into town.


Morro Rock is under there somewhere:




If you ever go to Morro Bay, you have to have to have to go to the Aquarium Gift Shop on the Embarcadero:


Normally, I avoid gift shops, but this place offers much more than tacky t-shirts and overpriced coffee mugs. The owners have saved and rehabilitated a sea lion and a harbor seal. If you walk through the shop, and pay a dollar or so per person, you can feed these animals. Believe me, they put on quite a show to get the food you're offering.

This guy is LOUD and hilarious:


If he catches sight of a little white bag in your hand, he knows you have fish for him and he lets you know that he wants some.


He sings, swims and practically dances to impress you.

This other guy is very quiet and sweet:


Delaney fed most of her bag o' fish to him because he had such adoring, lovely eyes.

Once you're out of fish heads, you can mosey into the inside aquarium and look at all of the cool sea creatures they have there:



(What shade of lipstick is that?)

Of course, while we're on vacation, we dine on only the finest fare:


Our next stop was sweet indeed:


In Fairfield, there is a magical place called the Jelly Belly Factory. They offer free tours of the plant and at the tour's end, they pass out free bags of Jelly Bellies. However, there is a slight bit of humiliation involved. Before entering the factory, you must don either a paper propogandized hat or a hair net that needed to remain on throughout the tour:


Jeff was delighted to comply:


Unable to choose between the fashionable hat and the nifty hair net, Tobias opted to wear both:


Once we had our stylish headgear on, we were led in a rousing cheer by our guide. It went like this:

Guide: Jelly!
Us: Belly!
Guide: Jelly!
Us: Belly!
Guide: Jelly!
Us: Bean!
Guide: Jelly!
Us: Bean!

(I began to wonder if we had just joined some weird cult, but then the factory doors were opened to us and all my fear melted away due to promises of free candy.)

It actually was interesting to learn about the candy making process. I kept looking around for Oompa-Loompas, but alas, they were all hiding. No photographing was allowed inside the factory (lending credence to the cult theory) so I have no pictures for you. You'll just have to go there yourself.

At the end of the tour, they spit you back into their gift shop (of course) where you can purchase even more of the goods they produce. Do I dare admit that we spent $27 on jelly beans??? Hey, they have some amazingly good ones. My favorites are grapefruit, pear and caramel corn. Don't try the vomit flavored one. It tastes quite authentic. (Yes, I am serious.)

For dinner, we met up with John and Rosie (my former piano teacher). I could kick myself for forgetting to take a picture of them. (You'll just have to believe me that they look great.) They were a very influential couple over me during my teen years, and my life, even now, is better due to the wonderful example they have always been.

...and that was Day 2.